Nominations Needed for The Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership

“Diversity is a core value as important as upholding our First Amendment responsibilities as a free press,” Karen Magnuson, the executive editor of the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, NY, recently wrote.

“How could we inspire inclusive problem-solving in our community if we are not inclusive ourselves?”

We are seeking nominations for individuals or news organizations whose actions and work reflect a strong commitment to diversity in honor of the late Robert G. McGruder, a former Detroit Free Press executive editor and former managing editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.

McGruder died of cancer in 2002 but spent his career championing diversity throughout our industry.

Nominees should have made a significant contribution during one or more years to improving diversity both through retention and recruitment in their workplaces and also through news content.

This year’s winner will be announced during the annual APME-ASNE conference Sept. 9-12 in Austin, Texas. The winner receives $2,500 and a leadership trophy.

As Magnuson wrote in the above-mentioned column toher news organization’sreaders, “Without question, embracing diversity is the right thing to do, but it’s also a business imperative in a multicultural society. Diversity of thought is part of the solution. It inspires more creativity that drives innovation. It leads to more robust community conversations that may lead to positive change.”

Important announcement from APME coming soon

APME will be making a big announcement at 10 a.m. EDT today. Stay tuned and look for our email.

We want to see you this fall at ASNE-APME conference

Sign up today to join us Sept. 11-12at the ASNE-APME News Leadership Conference in Austin, Texas, where you will be inundated with tips and advice on how to lead your newsroom.

For two full days at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center,the conference will cover the latest innovations in content and technology, leadership strategies, new business models and more. Detailed schedule.

Some highlights of our sessions and speakers you don't want to miss:

Big J Track: Editing the Archives: One of the most sacred beliefs for news organizations is that we do not take down published articles or photos. But editors are having to balance that belief with the knowledge that even the most trivial crime brief, although factually correct, can have a devastating effect on someone's life10 years later. Editors are fielding an increasing number of appeals from the subjects of these stories who argue that the photos should be removed or the articles should at least be updated with the resolution to the case. What should you do? When should we order up more reporting? Should a story ever come down? Confirmed speakers:Emilio García-Ruiz (moderator), Managing editor/digital, The Washington Post; Manny García, regional editor, USA TODAY Network; and Jeremy Harmon, director of photography, The Salt Lake Tribune.

Big J Track: Newsroom 2020: Legal Hotline Live: An opportunity for you to get any information you need about the critical legal issues facing journalism today in a free-wheeling conversational format. ASNE Legal Counsel Kevin Goldberg, after introducing ASNE's new and improved Legal Hotline, will lead editors as we discuss your own concerns, as well as the trending topics he's seeing in his work for ASNE and elsewhere. The increase in lawsuits stemming from inadvertent, unauthorized use of photos and the growing trend of retaliatory lawsuits filed against FOIA requesters are just two of the possible topics for this lively discussion that focuses on the issues you want to learn about.

Proof of Concept: The Story of APB: We follow one piece of journalism from news article to broadcast television. How did a New York Times magazine article, "Who Runs The Streets of New Orleans," become a Fox TV series about a technically innovative police force in Chicago? What benefits did the Times reap from the exercise? What are the journalistic or ethical issues the writer, David Amsden, faced?

Scholarships available for two fall NewsTrains

There are five diversity scholarships funded by the APME Foundation for each workshop. Apply to be a Greenville diversity scholar at http://bit.ly/2MjKPPH by July 27. To apply for the Denton scholarships, fill out the form at http://bit.ly/2HNjou2 by Aug. 10.

Greenville NewsTrain will offer a day and a half of digital training on Sept. 7-8, 2018,at the Younts Conference Center at Furman University.

Training Sessions Include:

• Storytelling on mobile: making smart choices
• Data-driven enterprise off your beat
• Getting your story read: maximizing and measuring social media for branding and audience engagement
• Becoming a verification ninja
• Mobile newsgathering: better reporting with your smartphone
• Using social media as powerful reporting tools
• Can you unplug? Making time to have a life

• Identify the best way to tell a particular story on a small screen.
• Identify a data set from your beat that will likely produce a story, and sort and filter in Excel to locate a potential story.
• Improve your writing on social media, establish your brand, encourage community engagement, and measure how well your social media efforts are working.
• Identify accurate content and debunk hoaxes.
• Use social media for sourcing, spotting news trends and verifying user-generated content.
• Turn your smartphone into a versatile, multimedia reporting tool in the field.
• Better manage your time and that of your newsroom teams.

Among our accomplished trainers are:

• Derrick Ho guides the strategy and development roadmap for native apps and web, balancing user needs, business requirements and internal resources for McClatchy's newspapers. @derrickhozw

• Ron Nixon is in the Washington, D.C., bureau for The New York Times and is a former training director for IRE. Nixon consistently gets top marks for his data-enterprise training sessions at NewsTrain. His first career job was in South Carolina. @nixonron

• Taylor Shaw is the social media and analytics editor at The News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C. Previously, she worked in digital media for broadcast TV. @taylorcshaw

Denton NewsTrain will offer a full day of digital training on Sept. 22, 2018,at the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas in the University Union, room 333, 1155 Union Circle. It is 41 miles north of Dallas and 38 miles north of Fort Worth.

• Identify the best way to tell a particular story on a small screen.
• Identify a data set from your beat that will likely produce a story, and sort and filter in Excel to locate a potential story.
• Improve your writing on social media, establish your brand, encourage community engagement, and measure how well your social media efforts are working.
• Sequence your best five shots to produce video news clips of under one minute with minimal editing.
• Design informational graphics with impact, such as maps and charts, using free and easy-to-use tools.

Among our accomplished trainers are:

• Hannah Wise, audience engagement editor at The Dallas Morning News, will lead the way in the social media branding session.@hwise29

To get updates for any of the upcoming NewsTrains, visit this pageand signup.

Americans and the News Media: What they do — and don’t — understand about each other

This research was conducted by the Media Insight Project — an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

A key factor in the erosion of Americans’ trust of their news media is a failure to communicate — we have a public that doesn’t fully understand how journalists work, and journalism that doesn’t make itself understandable to much of the public.

This fundamental pattern emerges from a new study by the Media Insight Project. We conducted twin surveys of both the public and journalists, asking each group parallel questions about the public’s understanding of journalistic concepts, the public’s interactions with journalists, and how all of that affects people’s assessment of the news media.

The findings released today reveal problems of miscommunication, as well as opportunities. They highlight shared ideals: for example, the public and journalists want the same things from the press — verified facts, supplemented by some background and analysis. But they also reveal dissatisfaction: many Americans think what they see in the news media looks largely like opinion and commentary — not the carefully reported contextualizing they hoped for.

Moreover, the public is confused by some basic concepts of news. Half do not know what an “op‑ed” is. More than 4 in 10 do not know what the term “attribution” means, and close to 3 in 10 do not know the difference between an “editorial” and a “news story.”

Are you doing great journalism that you want to shout about? Send current links and any preamble here and we'll share them with journalists, each week.Thanks for participating.

EDITORS IN THE NEWS

Craig named publisher

Nacogdoches , Texas —Rick Craig, formerly of the Hood County News, has been named publisher of The Daily Sentinel effective Monday.

“Rick Craig, a solid and experienced Texas newspaperman, has agreed to join Southern Newspapers, Inc. as publisher of The Daily Sentinel. One other bit of very good news in Nacogdoches is that Debi Ryan has agreed to step back into the role of managing editor of The Sentinel, a role she filled admirably for a number of years. We’re very pleased to have such a strong management team coming to Nacogdoches,” said Dolph Tillotson, president of Southern Newspapers.

A third-generation newspaperman, Craig started his career early by going to the office of the Hamlin Herald with his parents as a pre-schooler. He returned to the Herald after college and became the editor and publisher of the Herald in 1981 following the death of his father, Bob Craig.

AP names Steven Sloan as news editor overseeing politics

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press on Friday named Steven Sloan as news editor overseeing political coverage, including the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential campaign.

Sloan will oversee AP's national reporting team and work closely with reporters in Washington, as well as around the United States. His appointment was announced by AP Washington bureau chief Julie Pace.

"We're excited to have Steven taking on one of the most important jobs in political journalism," Pace said. "He's an experienced editor who is enthusiastic about politics, driven to break news and produce distinctive enterprise, and excited about the prospect of leveraging AP's resources not only in Washington, but in all 50 states."

Sloan joins the AP from CNN, where he most recently served as director of enterprise reporting in Washington. He also launched an award-winning digital magazine at CNN that combined long-form storytelling about politics, national security and culture with photography, graphics and animation.

During the 2016 campaign, Sloan was the managing editor for content at CNN Politics, overseeing a team of breaking news and enterprise reporters and editors covering the historic election.

Before joining CNN, Sloan was the congressional editor at POLITICO and a reporter at Bloomberg News. He grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in political science.

Wall Street Journal, Its Newsroom Unsettled, Names a New Editor

The Wall Street Journal named a new editor in chief on Tuesday, elevating Matthew J. Murray to the top spot at one of the country’s pre-eminent newspapers and bringing an end to the tenure of Gerard Baker, whose stewardship gave rise to unrest in the newsroom.

The British-born, Oxford-educated Mr. Baker, who led the broadsheet for five and a half years, will remain at The Journal as a weekend columnist. He will also host live events and a Journal-themed show on the Fox Business Network, which, like the newspaper, is an arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

At The Journal, Mr. Baker oversaw a sharp rise in readership and an award-winning investigation that exposed fraudulent claims by the health care tech company Theranos. But he also faced apprehension among his staff.

Last year, at an all-hands meeting called to address concerns about coverage, Mr. Baker defended himself against accusations from reporters that the paper had gone easy on President Trump, and suggested that other news organizations had become overly negative in their coverage.

Steven Sloan has joined the Associated Press in Washington, D.C. as Politics News Editor, leading coverage of the U.S. midterm elections and 2020 presidential campaign.

As AP’s political editor, Sloan will lead coverage of the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential campaign.

Sloan will report to Deputy Bureau Chief Kathleen Hennessey. He rounds out a national political reporting team packed with stellar talent.

Sloan was previously CNN’s director of enterprise reporting in Washington, where he oversaw in-depth journalism for digital and television platforms. He also launched an award-winning digital magazine at CNN that combined long-form storytelling about politics, national security and culture with photography, graphics and animation. During the 2016 campaign, Sloan was the managing editor for content at CNN Politics, overseeing a team of breaking news and enterprise reporters and editors covering the historic election.

Before joining CNN, Sloan was the congressional editor at POLITICO and a reporter at Bloomberg News. He grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in political science.

Feeley, who also will lead the News Journal's website, Delaware Online, will assume his duties July 9. He replaces David Ledford, who retired in March.

Feeley has served as senior director of content for PennLive and The Patriot-News in Harrisburg. He helped lead a team that won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for coverage of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal at Penn State University.

Feeley started his career at The Press-Enterprise in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, before moving to The Patriot-News and PennLive in 1989.

The News Journal reports that Feeley says he plans to focus on digital media but still maintain a strong print presence.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Former Los Angeles Times managing editor Marc Duvoisin has been appointed the new editor and vice president of the San Antonio Express-News.

Duvoisin took up his new duties on Monday. The 62-year-old veteran journalist succeeds Mike Leary, who retired May 18 after six years as leader of Express-News journalism.

The Express-News reports Duvoisin will lead a newsroom of more than 115 journalists, as well as share leadership of Hearst Newspapers' Austin and Washington bureaus with the Houston Chronicle.

Duvoisin began his journalism career with The Record in Bergen County, New Jersey, before moving to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He eventually became the Inquirer's Middle East correspondent before joining the Times as assistant managing editor in 2001.

OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — The publisher of an Alabama newspaper is leaving for Missouri, to take over operations for a group of community newspapers.

Rex Maynor has been publisher at the Opelika-Auburn News since 2013. He will work in Branson, Missouri, as a publisher for Tri-Lakes Newspapers Inc., which is owned by Gadsden-based Lancaster Management Inc.

Maynor's last day at the Opelika-Auburn News is Friday. The regional publisher for the newspaper's parent company BH Media Group, Steve Smith, will assume Maynor's duties as publisher.

Smith also oversees the Dothan Eagle, Enterprise Ledger, Eufaula Tribune in Alabama and the Jackson County Floridan in northwest Florida.

Seguin Gazette welcomes new editor, bids farewell to Webb

Starting Monday, the Seguin Gazette will welcome a familiar face to the newsroom, and say “farewell” to its managing editor.

Managing Editor Travis Webb is slated to take the helm of the Kerrville Daily Times as its managing editor, with Chris Lykins set to fill the spot as Editor of the Seguin Gazette.

“Travis has been an amazing asset to our newsroom, he is an award-winning journalist and is extremely dedicated to his family, his staff and putting out the best products he can,” Seguin Gazette General Manager Elizabeth Engelhardt said. “We will miss Travis immensely, but wish him all the best on his new endeavors in Kerrville”

Webb made the move from his role as assistant managing editor of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung in August 2016.

During his tenure with the Gazette, he’s earned several awards including the Carmage Walls Commentary Prize, Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Division A STAAR Designer of the Year 2018 and first place headline writing for Texas Press Association.

IN MEMORIAM

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Dick Buzbee, former editor and publisher of The Hutchinson News and Olathe Daily News in Kansas, has died from brain cancer. He was 86.

Buzbee's family said he died Wednesday morning in a Wichita hospital. He began a 35-year career in journalism with the Harris Enterprises newspaper group after leaving the Navy and worked in Chanute, Kansas; Burlington, Iowa, and then in Olathe and Hutchinson.

He was the father-in-law of Sally Buzbee, The Associated Press' executive editor. Her husband, John, a veteran Foreign Service officer who served across the Middle East, died in 2016.

Richard Edgar "Dick" Buzbee was born Aug. 16, 1931, in Fordyce, Arkansas. He attended the University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri, where he received degrees in journalism and political science and a naval commission.

He served as a midshipman and officer aboard a battleship, a cruiser, an attack transport and a tank-landing ship.

He received a Department of the Army citation during the Vietnam War for patriotic civilian service. He was the chairman of four campaigns in Olathe to bring service members home for the Christmas holidays during that war.

Buzbee also served as the chairman of both the Olathe and Hutchinson chambers of commerce and as president of the Johnson County Red Cross and the Hutchinson Symphony.

He married his wife, Marie, in 1955, in Waverly, Missouri, and they had four sons. He is survived by his wife, a brother, two sisters, two of his sons and 10 grandchildren.

Ann Garcelon Hencken, one of original members of AP's 'Mod Squad,' dies at 75

Ann Garcelon, one of the original members of AP's Living Today department, aka "the Mod Squad," died on June 5, 2018, in Santa Barbara, California. She was 75.

Garcelon, then reporting under her married name, Ann Hencken, joined the AP in the late 1960s, where she first worked with Lynn Sherr producing educational film strips for high school students. "Her soothing Tennessee accent belied a piercing curiosity and wicked humor," Sherr recalls. "She saw the absurd in the everyday."

When the Mod Squad was launched in 1970, Ann posed for the group photo wearing a blanket as a skirt and clunky (but trendy) Doc Martens boots on her feet. She would become the group's fashion reporter, a free-spirited southerner who tracked everything from love beads to midi-skirts, and wore them all.

In one 1972 piece about the new season's evening clothes, Ann wrote, "For [Donald] Brooks, the knock'em dead look means a crystal chemise dress, just a cut of silver light that couldn't be ignored at a party, unless everyone put on blinders."

For another detailing the new bare midriff and shoulder styles, she wrote, "Whether a woman has a nice throat, a great back or a terrific set of ribs, she'll have a chance to show it off this summer. Since long evening skirts threaten to obscure tanned legs, designers are busy drumming up interest elsewhere."

Ann left the AP in the early 1970s and worked as an editor at The New York Times, then Variety magazine in Los Angeles. She moved there in the 1980s when she decided to try her hand at screen writing and was accepted into the American Film Institute graduate program.

She eventually settled in Santa Barbara doing some freelance writing.

W.Va. newspaper stalwart Mariwyn Smith dead at 81

THOMAS, W.Va. — Mariwyn Faith McClain Smith, editor of the Parsons Advocate from 1971 to 2004 and a former past president of the West Virginia Press Association, died Wednesday, June 6, 2018.

Smith, age 81, died at Cortland Acres in Thomas, W.Va. She died surrounded by her children.

Smith and her family were active in the state newspaper industry and the West Virginia Press Association for decades. She served as president of the WVPA in 1993. Her husband, George, served as WVPA president in 1971, and her father, Kenneth McClain, served as WVPA president in 1959. Mrs. Smith was the first person in the organization’s history to be the third member of one family to hold the office of president.

Longtime CBS News correspondent Murray Fromson dies at 88

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Murray Fromson, a longtime CBS News correspondent and former Associated Press reporter, known for his work during the Korean and Vietnam wars, has died. He was 88.

Fromson died in his sleep Saturday morning in Los Angeles and had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years, according to his son, Derek Fromson.

During his 35-year career in broadcast news, he covered the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon, the armistice talks in Korea, the end of the U.S. occupation in Japan and the Apollo space program.

Fromson worked for The Associated Press for several years in the 1950s before he went to work at NBC News and then became a longtime CBS News correspondent.

He also covered two presidential elections, three summit meetings between Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev, of the former Soviet Union, and "Bloody Sunday," a day of racial violence in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.

Fromson and his colleagues at CBS News also won two Overseas Press Club awards for reporting on the fall of Saigon.

He was a founding member of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation and resources to protect the rights of journalists.

Besides his son, Fromson is also survived by his wife, Dodi and his daughter, Aliza Ben Tal.

Jim Patten, former University of Arizona department head, dies at 83

Professor Emeritus Jim Patten, who helped save the University of Arizona journalism program from elimination in the mid-1990s during his time as department head, died June 5 in Prescott after being diagnosed with lung cancer on May 17. He was 83.

Patten led the department from 1991 to 2000 and taught at UA from 1983 to 2000. He also was an adjunct instructor from 2006 to 2009.

"He was a pillar of strength when the then journalism department was threatened with closure," retired Prof. Jim Johnson said. "That the department, now school, is still thriving is a tribute to his leadership."

After the UA administration announced closure plans in 1994, Patten led a group of alums, community supporters, news executives, faculty and students in lobbying then-President Manuel Pacheco, the Arizona Board of Regents and the state Legislature to save the program.

"Journalism alums from all over the country flooded the UA president's office with protest letters," Patten said in 2016. "The president called me once to ask if I could discourage the letter campaign. Fat chance. The press was offended and plainly in our corner. ... Current students joined the struggle, organizing pro-journalism protests and events."

The faculty Senate voted 37-3 in 1995 to save the department, which was designated as a school in 2008 by the Board of Regents.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Murray Fromson, a longtime CBS News correspondent and former Associated Press reporter, known for his work during the Korean and Vietnam wars, has died. He was 88.

Fromson died in his sleep Saturday morning in Los Angeles and had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years, according to his son, Derek Fromson.

During his 35-year career in broadcast news, he covered the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon, the armistice talks in Korea, the end of the U.S. occupation in Japan and the Apollo space program.

Fromson worked for The Associated Press for several years in the 1950s before he went to work at NBC News and then became a longtime CBS News correspondent.

He also covered two presidential elections, three summit meetings between Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev, of the former Soviet Union, and "Bloody Sunday," a day of racial violence in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.

Fromson and his colleagues at CBS News also won two Overseas Press Club awards for reporting on the fall of Saigon.

Oren Dorell, a former construction contractor who became a globe-trotting foreign affairs reporter for USA TODAY, died June 9 in Washington, D.C. He was 53.

Dorell was hit by a suspected impaired driver while riding his motorcycle. The crash is under investigation.

D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department said Dorell was driving east in the 1100 block of H Street NE on a 2018 Kawasaki Ninja just before 8:30 p.m. when he was struck by a Toyota Camry, which fled the scene. The driver, 47-year-old Daryl Grant Alexander, faces charges of second-degree murder, driving under the influence and leaving after colliding, police said.

Dorell was taken to MedStar Hospital, where he died, said his wife, Virginia "Ginny" Knapp Dorell. He leaves behind his wife and two sons: Malcolm, 12, and Leo, 11.

Dorell enjoyed a journalism career that spanned two decades. In his 13 years at USA TODAY, he traveled to far reaches of the world, covering historic events, from Middle East uprisings to natural disasters.

APME: Lead. Nurture. Innovate.

OUR VISION

We foster newsroom leaders. We empower journalists to succeed. We cultivate ideas that work.

OUR MEMBERS

The Associated Press Media Editors is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of newsroom leaders and journalism educators that works closely with The Associated Press to promote journalism excellence. Anyone with senior responsibilities in an AP-affiliated organization, and any journalism educator or student media leader, is invited to join.

OUR MISSION

APME advances the principles and practices of responsible journalism. We support and mentor a diverse network of current and emerging newsroom leaders. We champion the First Amendment and promote freedom of information. We train journalists to realize their aspirations and thrive in a rapidly changing environment. We promote forward-looking ideas that benefit news organizations and the communities they serve. We work closely with the Associated Press, the largest independent media operation in the world.

APME FOUNDATION
The APME Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 1988 to receive tax-exempt gifts to carry out educational projects for the advancement of newspaper journalism. Every year since 1994 an auction has been held at the annual conference to benefit the foundation. Proceeds help supportNewsTrain, a regional, low-cost training opportunity around the country and other practical education tools promoting the First Amendment, innovation and diversity in newsrooms.

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